Asking The Question
As a man under the age of 50, the biggest risk of death for me, is ME !!!
What the Fuck ! I heard this alarming fact while watching a programme on BBC last night.
Bigger than Cancer, obesity, car accident I’ll repeat this, the greatest risk to my life is me
Suicide takes more men under the age of 50 than any other form of death !
WHY ?
This is a tricky reason to nail down but I’ll go over some of the highest factors
- Suffering a major loss or trauma in your life can make you feel life isn’t worth living
- Relationships end, Men tend to put more emotional support onto a partner than they do on friends. The combination of a relationship ending and while not having the person you relied on most to support you through it.
- Using and relying on Sedation – Drugs, Alcohol, Porn, Masturbation, Sex, whatever takes you away from your reality, the real stresses in your life. When you come down from these it can all seem even worse.
- Mental Health – Depression, Bipolar for example can lead to enough negative thoughts to make you feel useless
- Someone close to you attempts or commits suicide can lead to a sense of guilt
- A combination of any of the above
- The lack of purpose, unsure of your place in society, you don’t feel ‘manly’ enough
- Most suicidal people don’t actually want to die, they just want to get away from the situation they find themselves in and for the pain to stop
CONSIDERATIONS
I wish the next line or two would give you an easy option, a simple solution to this problem, unfortunately it doesn’t work like that.
Again I’ve made a list of things that can help reduce the risks and some ideas that may improve the chances of not reaching that crucial point where its too late.
- TALK TO SOMEONE – ask your friends, family, workmates if they’re OK, not just in a passing comment not really caring what they say back.
- Fuck the ‘MAN UP’ suggestions. The idea that as a man you need to keep that stiff upper lip, plough on through each day as though nothings wrong. Fuck that – it takes a stronger man to stand up and say he’s struggling
- Breadwinner, you don’t need to be the breadwinner, the one who heads up the family, not 100% of the time anyway. Its ok (its actually awesome) you have a partner who can support you financially when needed. It’s about being part of a team.
- You are not alone, there is always someone there to listen, if you can’t speak to family or friends, phone a help line.
- Show more empathy to others, if they seem crabbit, moody, unsocial, try and find out why they are like this, maybe they just need a friendly ear.
- People are better off with you IN their life, never let yourself believe otherwise
HELP
There are a lot of places available to drop in, e-mail or phone if you don’t feel you can speak to or have someone close. I have listed some, in no real order.
THE IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW IS THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE THERE FOR YOU
Also remember this
TOMORROW NEEDS YOU
Backonside.co.uk – They have a drop in, the first Monday of every month at Airdrie football ground
Webchat – thecalmzone.net/get-help
An anonymous and confidential call
Phone – 0800 58 58 58
E-mail me – craig@glasgowmanclub.com
Whether you need an ear or you need to be an ear, PLEASE just be more aware of others
CONTACT US TO START TODAY